Deal is worth $26 a share for specialist in hepatitis C treatments Pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb is purchasing Inhibitex Inc., a specialist in hepatitis C treatments, in a cash tender offer for $2.5 billion. In a deal announced late Saturday, Bristol-Myers will pay $26 a share for Inhibitex, based in Alpharetta, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta. Inhibitex shares ended Friday trading at $9.87, up 24 cents, or 2.5%. New York-based Bristol-Myers was up marginally to $34.22. While Inhibitex describes itself as dedicated to developing treatments for all serious infections, it’s now focused primarily on...

The U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate fell for the fourth month in a row, the government said Friday, in a fresh sign the economy is picking up and businesses are more willing to hire. The increase in jobs last month — the fourth biggest gain of 2011 — suggests the U.S. is entering the new year with renewed vigor. Faster hiring puts more money in the hands of consumers and usually leads to an increase in spending. That’s a big deal since consumer spending accounts...

Crude-oil futures ended sharply lower on Thursday after a government weekly supply data showed a surprise increase in inventories. Crude oil for February delivery fell $1.41, or 1.4%, to end the day at $101.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, ending a two-day winning streak for the commodity. Losses intensified in the last hour of trading, but oil’s fate was sealed as soon as official word on supplies came in earlier Thursday. “It was an extremely bearish“ report, said Jim Ritterbusch, an oil analyst in Illinois. A weaker euro, which pushed...